ETNA - The Etna Township Trustees have voted to sever a contract with a Pennsylvania firm that was building the new township garage on South Street, citing several reasons for the action.

The township had selected Rutherford Construction, of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, to build the garage. The township originally purchased a steel package for $37,900 and hired Rutherford, a firm that is familiar with erecting prefabricated structures.

However, the trustees evicted the firm from the job site on Aug. 19, with the building about half completed. The trustees did not divulge the reasons at a subsequent Aug. 20 meeting because of possible legal ramifications. They did list the grievances a few weeks later, at a Sept. 6 meeting.

The initial issue centered on Rutherford allegedly not possessing a worker’s compensation certificate, Trustee John Carlisle said. Rutherford claimed that its certificate of insurance incorporated a worker’s comp certification, but Carlisle said the insurance certification does not act as a workers comp document.

It was determined that Rutherford “was not in compliance with the (Ohio) Bureau of Workers Compensation,” Carlisle said. Carlisle added the township’s insurance carrier advised that Rutherford “not be permitted back on site.” That view also was supported by the Licking County Prosecutor’s Office.

Other issues arose, Carlisle said, when workers were spotted on the site “in tennis shoes, shorts, wearing no hard hats or safety glasses.” He said that was an apparent violation of Occupational Safety and Health Administration federal work-site regulations. Carlisle said at times he visited the site to find only a single worker on the project.

Rutherford later obtained a separate workers compensation certificate, but by then township officials felt too much construction time had been lost. Carlisle said he was recommending to Trustees Randy Foor and Jeff Johnson that the township “terminate the contract for lack of performance.”

Before the trustees acted on the motion, Carlisle said an official from the Licking County Building Code Department toured the site for two hours recently and found some deficiencies in the project. Jason Deskins, of B & D Concrete Foundations in Kirkersville, was called by the township to accompany the building department inspector and found issues, such as allegedly loose bolts on the main frame.

In a conversation with Rutherford, Carlisle said the company wanted “details of the deficiencies” which he thought was egregious since it was the contractor. The company compiled an estimate of around $21,000 before it would “walk away” from the project, Carlisle said. The list included payment for work done on site since the initial payment, $2,600 in loss profits and $4,800 for a change order connected to the project.

“I don’t think they are entitled to that,” Trustee Foor said, adding he felt there should be “no money exchanging hands.” His sentiments were echoed by Johnson who said the company “does not have a leg to stand on.” Carlisle agreed, but added the issue will likely end up in court. “We’re going to get sued,” he predicted. “I can see that coming.”

The trustees then voted unanimously to terminate Rutherford’s contract and not advance the company any further payments. B & D, which had laid the concrete foundation for the building, then was hired for $31,530 to finish the project. Foor said it will likely be late in the year when the exterior is finished and then the inside work can begin on the 60-foot-by-100 foot building.